Previously, I had different experience and starting a 40 hour a week job was a bit intimidating. However, once I came through the doors I was greeted with a warm welcome from everyone in the company. Any nervousness I had was pushed away once I saw how welcoming everyone was. Once I was given a tour of the office, I sat down and got my desk set up, and started walking through what I’d be doing day to day. Any questions I had were readily answered, and no question was a stupid question.

Suraj Didwania

When transitioning from Graduate school to being an intern, I wasn’t sure how much the skills I learned in school would transfer to real world work. I was surprised when I saw how things I had learned about (the Agile process, coding standards, software patterns, etc.) were being used in the industry. But there were a few things that school couldn’t teach me, such as learning how the code works for a product, or how to estimate time for projects that could take longer than a month. These skills have come to me through my time here at JCPenney, and will stay with me through my career.

JCPenney has made me see that there is a lot more to the business world than making money. There is social responsibility, there are friendships, and there is progress to be made. JCPenney is a company that looks forward to how we can make an impact. As the weeks have passed, I have been fortunate enough to attend an array of company events. This ranges from the Potluck, to the Omni Channel baseball game outing, to different networking events, to the philanthropic event (Thank you Kim and Caroline).

During this internship, I’ve made great connections, new friends, and memories that will last a lifetime. Over the course of the summer, I have spent time with extremely talented and motivated students from all around the country. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet with our CEO and varying levels of executives who are willing to take time out of their busy day to talk to an intern.

I could talk about all the technical skills that I have learned. Or the project that I have worked on, or even the impact I have made on making our quarterly planning and analytical process more efficient. However, I would rather share my experiences and the impact JCPenney has had on me.

Overall, interning here at JCPenney has been an amazing experience, and I would recommend it to anyone. The work done is interesting, the people are friendly and helpful, and I have learned a lot about the industry and what to expect working in my field.

Thank you JCPenney for giving me the opportunities of a lifetime. More importantly, thank you to the team for supporting me (Mike, Dhriti, Pujari, Srini, Jay, Jackie, Kim, Caroline) and making my internship a valuable experience. — Suraj Didwania